


Forget-Me-Not

by RikuSoma



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-05-29 14:59:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6380881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikuSoma/pseuds/RikuSoma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes things slip your mind. No one's perfect. However, when being Ladybug is what you forget, things can get a bit... complicated. Chat Noir has his work cut out for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Frustration

///In the daytime, I’m Marinette!///

*Bell rings*

“Good morning class, please take out the essay that I assigned you over the weekend.” Caline Bustier smiled at the class as they dug through their bags for the essay on classic French literature and it’s effect on today’s literature.

Marinette gasped, her eyes wide. She turned slowly to her best friend, Alya, and squeaked, “I completely forgot!”

“Seriously?” Alya shook her head and stifled a laugh, holding her own essay to her mouth in an attempt to make her whispering even quieter, “Leave it to you to forget something like that. I even texted you about it on Saturday!”

She rested her head in her hands and sighed, “I know, I know! I was just so… so busy this weekend.”

“Marinette?” Ms. Bustier stood next to the fearful girls desk and looked down at her, concerned, “Are you not feeling well?”

“Huh?” Marinette looked up quickly and raised her hands, “Oh! No, no, I’m fine.”

“I see. Would you hand me your essay then?” The teacher held out her hand expectantly.

What else could she do?! Ms. Bustier would be so disappointed. Deep breath…

“I’m sorry, I complete forgot about the essay. I promise I’ll do it tonight.” Marinette could barely bring herself to look the teacher in the eye, but when she finally did, she was surprised to see a smile, even if there was a hint of disappointment.

“Well, I won’t be able to give you full marks on it tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to reading it, regardless. Try to finish your assignments on time in the future.” The red head smiled reassuringly and continued on, picking up the other student’s essays.

As it turned out, two other students forgot their essays as well. It annoyed Ms. Bustier, but she knew there wasn’t much to be done about it. She continued the class like normal and dismissed the class with a kind reminder about assignments due the next day. As soon as the students had all left the room, she sat down for a moment, feeling slightly more drained than usual, before heading home.

Entering the comfortable apartment, she glanced around hopefully, peaking around corners, checking under the table. Carefully, she placed her purse on the kitchen table before heading to her bedroom. She pushed the door open, and peered inside, watching as a man checked himself in a full size mirror. He wore a nice suit and looked dressed up for a special occasion. Silently, she slipped into the room and crept up behind him.

“Gotcha!” She pounced and wrapped her arms around him from behind, earning a slight yelp from the man. With a laugh, he turned and hugged Caline, kissing her on the forehead.

“My darling! How was work?” He pushed her to arms length to see her better and smiled sweetly, putting a hand to her cheek.

Leaning into his hand, she let out a sigh, “Some of my students have been forgetting assignments, but I guess that’s normal. I just wish I could figure out a better way to help them remember.”

“Don’t let it get you down, you’re a wonderful teacher! They’re just kids, so they haven’t quite realized the importance of homework.” He reassured her and gave her another kiss, “Now, I wish I could stay and talk about it with you, but I’m going out with the boys tonight. I have to go meet them soon.”

Taken aback, she tilted her head, confused, “Wait, tonight? Didn’t you plan something for us tonight?”

He took a moment and raised his eyebrows, “Should I have? You didn’t mention anything.”

“It’s our anniversary!” She pouted and crossed her arms as he slapped his palm to his forehead.

“My darling, I’m so sorry! I forgot.” He moved his hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it nervously, “I promised the boys about tonight, but we’ll definitely do something very special tomorrow, I promise.”

He tried to take her hands, but she turned away, refusing to look at him. Defeated, he stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, sneaking a kiss to her cheek, “I have to go now. I really am sorry. See you tonight.”

And like that, he was gone.

She waited for the sound of the front door closing before slowly walking to the kitchen and sitting at the table, a sob escaping her. Gently, she opened the tiny locket that hung on a chain around her neck. Inside was a picture of them together, laughing and hugging on their honeymoon.

“People can be so forgetful. It’s a shame that such important things are the first to escape ones memory.” Hawkmoth looked out of his massive window with a cunning smile before looking down at the ethereal butterfly in his hand. In only moments, the butterfly was purple and cracked, fluttering out of the window, “Go, my little akuma, and help her forget this pain.”

The evil creature didn’t have to fly far to reach the locket. A booming voice filled the exasperated teacher’s mind, “Forget-Me-Not, I am Hawkmoth. I can help you teach those people a lesson they will never forget, but in return, you must remember to bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous!”

A grin spread across her face and she stood, gripping the locket, “I will not forget!”

~~~

Marinette sat in front of her computer and sighed, looking at the few words at the top of the page, “Oh, Tikki, I’m drawing a blank! How am I going to write this whole essay in just one night?!”

“Alya finished her essay, didn’t she? Maybe you could ask her for help.” Tikki sat on Marinette’s shoulder, trying to reassure her comparatively massive friend.

“I can’t do that, I’d never hear the end of it.” She laid her head down on the desk and groaned. After a moment, she grabbed her phone and dialed her friend, “I guess it’s better to ask for help and get it done than to not get it done at all.”

“That’s the spirit, Marinette!” Tikki cheered.

The phone rang a couple times before a cautious voice answered.

“H-hello?”

“Alya? Hi! I was wondering if you could-“

“Who are you?! How do you know my name?” The voice on the other side sounded frightened.

“What do you mean, Alya? It’s me, Marinette!”

“I don’t know anyone named Marinette!” Click.

Marinette looked at her phone and bit her lip, “What’s going on?”

“Maybe we should go check on her and make sure she’s ok?” The little red bug suggested, climbing into Marinette’s purse as she grabbed it and headed down stairs.

“Not a bad idea. I’d say it’s a silly prank she’s pulling on me, but she sounded scared.” Glancing outside, Marinette didn’t see anything suspicious. Maybe it was just a prank. She stepped outside and began walking toward Alya’s house. Within moments, a car sped by her, almost jumping the curb at her. She could hear a frantic voice inside the car as it passed by.

“Which one is the brake?!”

She watched helplessly as the car plowed into a fence, the metal bending around the front of the car, effectively bringing it to a stop before it hurt someone. This had Hawkmoth written all over it!

Ducking behind a car, Marinette opened her purse, “Tikki, spots on!”

With a flourish and a flash, Ladybug was ready for action! For now, she had to check on Alya. Fortunately, her destination was only a few swings away. She landed gracefully on the balcony of Alya’s bedroom and peered inside, knocking on the glass, noting the plethora of blue flower petals that littered the balcony. A scared face peeked out of the closet and darted back in when it saw Ladybug.

“Alya? Alya, are you okay? What happened?” She put her hand against the glass and noticed the door was unlocked. Carefully, she slid it open, but didn’t step inside, “Alya, I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I need you to tell me everything you remember. Your friend, Marinette, she’s worried about you.”

“That’s the problem! I don’t remember a Marinette! I don’t remember anything! Everything is so different, my body is different, my room is different. I don’t know what’s going on!” The frightened voice trembled, but she remained behind the door of her closet.

Taking a step back, Ladybug took a breath, “Don’t worry. I’ll fix this. You just stay put.”

Looking down, she saw a bunch of very confused people and a couple of minor car accidents. She could hear them well enough, and there was no doubt that their issues were similar.

“Wait, which bus am I supposed to take to work?!”

“How do I unlock my phone?!”

“What in the world does prindle mean?!”

Everyone was forgetting something, some more than others. And the blue petals were everywhere!

Ladybug drew back her arm to throw her yoyo, but a confident voice above her caught her attention, “Hello, m’lady, I hope you haven’t forgotten about me~”

“Who are you again?” Ladybug mused sarcastically with a sly smile, looking over her shoulder.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Chat Noir jumped down and picked op one of the many blue flower petals on the balcony, “Well, this is a mess. Do you think it’s the work of an akuma?”

Ladybug threw her yoyo to the next building and nodded, “Most definitely. Follow me!”

Their search began, but it was short lived, as the woman dressed in a wispy, baby blue tutu seemed to float up and over the roof of a building, tiny baby blue flower petals being thrown from a basket in the crook of her arm. They chased her as she disappeared behind another building.

“Hey!” Ladybug called as they made it the otherside of the building, her yo-yo swinging wildly, Chat Noir landing beside her, crouching with his staff at the ready. But the woman was gone, “What-?”

“Where’d she go?” Chat stood up straight and looked around for more flower petals, but even that trail was cold. With an exasperated sigh, Ladybug holstered her yo-yo and scratched her head. This new enemy was causing a lot of issues and someone was bound to get hurt if she didn’t catch them.

Turning to Chat Noir, she lifted her fist, “We have to keep looking! They couldn’t have gotten that- Chat Noir, behind you!”

Chat Noir turned just in time to see the woman in blue fling her hand toward him, a flurry of petals racing for him. He spun his staff, standing between the woman and Ladybug, and the petals sprayed out in all directions. Ladybug smiled and pumped her fist, “Good reflexes, Chat Noir!”

With a grin, he peered over his shoulder, “Why, thank you, m’lady~!”

“Keep it up, I’ll take care of her!” Ladybug ducked out from behind Chat Noir, smiling with determination and spinning her yo-yo. The smile disappeared as a second stream of petals, hidden by the first, crashed into her chest with no warning.

“LADYBUG!” Chat Noir shrieked as she was thrown over the side of the building. He growled and glared at the woman beyond the petals, slowly and carefully backing toward the edge, never taking his eyes off her. As soon as he felt the edge of the building, he ducked to the side and off the edge, avoiding the blast of petals no longer being held back by his staff.

He landed on the ground and glanced around, green eyes landing on an unmoving Ladybug. With a jump, he stopped next to her and carefully put his hand to her cheek. A slight groan escaped her and he sighed in relief. A tree had broken her fall, thankfully, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Picking her up in a bridal carry, he frantically looked around and noticed a subway entrance. Without wasting another moment, he jumped down the stairs, startling some commuters waiting for their train. Stepping to the side, he took a breath, hoping the woman hadn’t noticed where they’d gone. He did his best to make a shushing motion at the curious crowd of commuters as they murmured. After a minute, he slowly ducked his head around the corner to get a look up the stairs, and was barely able to pull himself back in time as a hurricane of flowers descended into the station, engulfing the commuters. 

Chat jumped on to the tracks and ran as fast as he could, leaving the flood of flowers behind them. There was a chance she’d follow, so he couldn’t stop running yet. A light in the tunnel appeared from around a bend and the loud horn of the train echoed against the walls, making his sensitive ears ring. There was a small opening a little further ahead, so he ducked inside and set Ladybug against the wall until the train passed by.

For a moment, he let himself stare at the girl. For a moment, he let himself ponder her true identity. It would be an easy feat to remove her earrings. In fact, it might have been better for her health. The thought lasted a mere second before he scolded himself for trying to justify such an action. Checking back out in the tunnel, he looked back toward the station, seeing a stopped train, but nothing else. The petals had cascaded on to the track, but they were motionless. Regardless, he couldn’t risk going back there. It wasn’t as if there weren’t any exits.

“Um.” A soft voice made Chat Noir jump slightly. Turning around, his eyes landed on a very confused Ladybug, “Where am I? Who are you?”

Crouching down beside her, he tilted his head, concerned, “You don’t remember me? More importantly, do you remember who you are?”

“Of course,” She said slowly, side-eyeing the costumed man, “I’m Marin-“

“Ahhh!” He put his clawed hand over her mouth, “Don’t say it!”

Unfortunately, he had realized too late, and she had said enough. There was no way he could mistake that name coupled with her appearance. He wanted to freak out, he wanted to scream, he wanted to rip out his heart and give it to her on a silver platter. His emotions were running wild and he didn’t know what to do until he looked at her eyes and saw that he had startled her and her chest heaved in fear.

Quickly, he removed his hand and stepped back, “Ah, sorry sorry, stranger danger, right? You don’t know me, so you shouldn’t really be telling me your name, right?”

Her legs drawn in to her chest, she looked at him suspiciously, “Riiiight.”

Standing, Chat Noir offered her his hand, “Look, I will explain everything, but right now you’re in danger, and I need to get you somewhere safe. Also, don’t freak out, but you’re also wearing a costume.”

“What?!” She stood and looked down at herself, appalled by the skin-tight costume. Glaring at him, she held up her finger at him, “Did you put me in this?! You… you pervert!”

“No! No, I promise, when it happened, you were completely aware and I wasn’t even there to see it. You do it a lot, actually.” He held up his hands defensively and backed up a bit.

“I do not! This is ridiculous! I know fashion, and this! This is not fashion!” Ladybug put her hands on her head and breathed heavily, looking for something resembling a mirror. Against the wall was a smudged piece of polished steal, just reflective enough to see a slightly blurry reflection. She stared at herself for a moment, “Why am I dressed like a cartoon character?”

Chat Noir stood at her side, taking a moment to flex at himself, before clearing his throat, “Well, you’re a super hero. We both are.”

“Uh-huh. Yeah, I totally look like a super hero. And I must fight with this… this… what is this?” She grabbed the yo-yo at her hip and studied it for a moment, “A yo-yo? Oh yeah, I fight with a yo-yo, a completely practical weapon, right? Do I have laser vision?!”

She stared wide-eyed at Chat for an awkward moment, then turned away, walking down the tunnel, “Nope. Well, I must be the worst super hero ever.”

“Wait, wait!” Chat followed her, reaching for her shoulder before realizing that would likely be a bad idea, “Look, you actually guessed it pretty well. Other than being the worst super hero ever, of course. You’re amazing! And that yo-yo is your weapon, as hard as it may be to believe. And no, you don’t have laser- wait, did you try to use laser vision on me just now?!”

“Suuuuuure. And yup.” She said simply, walking forward. Chat’s fake ears folded forward. She really didn’t remember him. Not only that, but she hated him, at least as she was right now. He didn’t follow her. He just watched, as she kept walking, independent, looking for her own way out. His heart skipped a beat as he was reminded again how amazing she was. Even without her memories, she was still handling things on her own.

As she disappeared around a corner, he turned back toward the train tracks and let his transformation end. Plagg landed on his shoulder, his pestering, whiney voice all too grating for the situation, “Woooow, you’re just gonna let her walk away? Are you THAT heartbroken? You know she’ll be attacked, right? Without her memories, she can’t defend herself. You’re gonna let that happen?”

“Of course not.” Adrien stated seriously, “I have a plan, Plagg.”


	2. Revelation

“Exit… exit, exit, exit?” Ladybug looked around another corner. It had only been a few minutes since she noticed that Chat Noir had stopped following her. She had tried removing whatever she was wearing, but it seemed to be stuck to her skin, and she was definitely not wearing anything underneath. Getting home to figure things out would be way better, “Of course this would happen right now. I’m only days away from a new school year and I have to deal with this! At least I can hope that I won’t get stuck with Chloe AGAIN… maybe.”

Walking down the next corridor, she spotted a ladder in the wall, leading up a long hole in the ceiling. Yes! An exit! The ascent was easier than she thought it would be. Maybe it was the lack of heavy clothes? There’s no way she gained so much stamina overnight.

The man-hole cover was heavy, but with persistence, she was able to push it up and out of the way, again, more easily than she thought possible. Maybe skin-tight clothes weren’t so bad, if they made things so much easier. Looking around, she felt a bit self-conscious, as people were staring at her. Of course, if someone had come out of the ground in a strange costume, she would stare too.

Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, she walked casually toward home, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

“Ladybug!” A voice called out, but she didn’t look towards them. Suddenly, a blond boy was standing in front of her, blocking her path, “Ladybug.”

She smiled, unsure, “Um, I’m sorry, I’m not-“

“Of course you are. You’ve saved me multiple times,” He gestured to the staring crowd that had gathered while she was staring at the ground, “And them. You don’t remember?”

“Listen, I’m sorry, I don’t know what kind of joke someone is playing on me, but this is really too much.” She was becoming annoyed and tried to walk around him, but he blocked her again.

His green eyes stared at her, pleading, “It’s not a joke, I promise. You’re the city’s hero. You and Chat Noir.”

“Chat Noir?” She tilted her head, the look in his eyes convincing her that there really was something more than what she remembered. There was something else in his eyes as well, and her heart jumped, recognizing something her head had forgotten.

Adrien smiled, a slight pink tint on his cheeks, “Yeah, he’s your really cool, mysterious partner. You two have been fighting bad guys along side each other for a while now. And he admires you… w-we all do.”

A pang of guilt struck her heart. The boy in black. She had left him down there after refusing to listen to him. She looked to the side as a few onlookers stepped forward.

“Ladybug, we love you!”

“Please save the city again, Ladybug!”

“You can do it!”

They were nothing if not completely sincere. But save the city? She looked up at Adrien, who looked down at her with eyes full of warmth. Forever could come and go, and she would never tire of those eyes. Little did she know that the feeling was mutual, “How can I… how can someone like me save the city? And from what?”

“We know you can /because/ it’s you. There’s a woman flying around making people forget important things. I think she got to you too. I saw Chat Noir take you underground after she attacked you.” Adrien explained quickly, making sure to leave out details that would give away where he had actually been, “Please save us, Ladybug.”

“Where’s Chat Noir? We need him too.” An annoying, bodiless voice called out, but the crowd was so big now, no one could tell where it came from. No one really cared either. The voice was right, after all.

From inside Adrien’s shirt, Plagg chuckled quietly. Adrien patted his shirt roughly in disapproval. He made a mental note to cut Plagg’s cheese intake as punishment.

Ladybug bit her thumb. After leaving him underground, she had no idea how to find him. Not only that, but she doubted he’d want to see her after what she had said to him, “I left him down there. I thought he was… well, I thought he was a stalker. I don’t remember getting into these clothes; I don’t remember how I got here. I woke up and he was there and he was saying these ridiculous things…”

She put her hands to her face, Adrien doing his best to keep a straight face, despite the pain her words caused him, “All of those things… he was telling the truth. He must hate me.”

“He wouldn’t lie to you.” His hands found her shoulders and he leaned over, trying to see her face through her hands, “And he doesn’t hate you, I promise.”

“How do you know?” She glanced up, sadly.

He stammered and looked away, blushing, “I don’t think anyone could hate you, Ladybug. And I saw him leave the station. He’s actually the one who told me where to find you. And where you can find him. He wants to teach you how to use your powers.”

She looked up from her hands, hopeful, “Where is he?”

“Under the Eiffel Tower.” He let go of her shoulders and stepped out of her way, “Hurry. He’s waiting for you. And don’t let the lady in the blue tutu see you.”

“Ok.” With a deep, calming breath, she began running, “Thank you!”

Arriving at the tower, she looked around, but she didn’t see anyone.

“Chat Noir?” She called out.

“Yes, m’lady?” He stepped out from behind one of the feet of the tower, his staff across his shoulders, and his arms resting on it.

Ladybug looked away and down at the ground, “I’m sorry for earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it! You got your memories wiped, so it’s to be expected.” He stood the staff on the ground, leaning his chin on the up-end, “I’m guessing you still don’t remember me, do you, bug-a-boo?”

“Sorry.” She said softly. He raised his hand and waved it off.

“Don’t apologize, it’s fine. For now we need to focus on reminding you of your powers.” He walked toward her and took the yo-yo from her waist, “This is your weapon. And yes, it’s a yo-yo. But it’s a special yo-yo. The string is infinite and indestructible. You’ve stopped speeding /trucks/ with it.”

Her eyes grew wide, “Wow.”

A cat-like grin crossed his face as he continued, “Oh, you think that’s cool, wait until I tell you the best part! Now, I do have to warn you, you can only do this once before your transformation wears off, so don’t waste it. It’s called Lucky Charm. When you throw your yo-yo into the air and say Lucky Charm, it will give you an item. Sometimes the item is a bit weird, but that’s what makes you so cool! Every time, you figure out how to use the item in new and creative ways to help us beat the bad guy.”

“Do I know what the item is beforehand?” She asked, unsure of how cool the ability really was.

“Ah, no. It’s pretty random. But it always works, because you, m’lady, are simply amazing.” He leaned in to her face and grinned slyly. With a smirk, she put her finger to his nose and pushed him away. At least she remembered that, “Ok, first lesson. We’re going to climb the tower.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

Chat Noir stood his staff straight, his hand on top, and grinned, “Don’t worry, you’ve done it before. Just throw your yo-yo and believe in yourself.”

With that, his staff extended and he was headed upward. She watched and gulped, amazed at the impossible staff, but scared for the lack of protection. Clumsy was the best way she could describe herself, so she didn’t see anything good coming from this. But she took a deep breath and threw the yo-yo, watching the string get longer and longer before it wrapped around one of the lowest beams. She gave it a small tug to make sure it was secure, but was taken by surprise when the tug caused the string to shorten, flinging her upward. She landed less than gracefully and clung to the beam for dear life.

“That was a good start. Come on. We’re going all the way to the top!” Chat called down from one of the higher beams.

“I can’t do this!” She squealed.

“Yes you can!” He laughed and climbed further, without the help of his staff, “Just throw and believe!”

It was a slow process. But she got the hang of it more and more. She reached the top and grasped the spire, clinging to it as she looked around at the city, “Amazing…”

Chat Noir stared at her from the edge, “Yeah.”

He held out his hand, smiling gently. Cautiously, she looked into his eyes, a familiar feeling radiating through her chest. On her own, she wouldn’t even think about getting so close to the edge. But he was there, and it felt… safe. She took his hand and walked the few steps to the edge, looking down as she stood beside him. Even though the view of the city was overwhelming, the longer she looked, the more she could see the trail of blue flowers. It was like a blanket. At the end of the growing trail, she could see something blue floating above the streets.

“You trust me, right?” Chat Noir held his staff out over the edge. It extended to the ground, parallel to the side of the tower.

“You assume a lot.” She chided, but he just winked in return.

She stepped closer to him and felt his hand around her waist, “Only one of my many charms, LB.”

To her surprise, he seemed to step off the edge, pushing them out and away from the tower, so that the staff straightened to an upright position in the sky. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her stomach flipping.

“Second lesson.” He whispered into her ear. She squeaked cutely, “Landing.”

***

The staff swayed and then began to fall in the general direction of the floating lady. Ladybug shrieked and hugged Chat Noir tightly, closing her eyes. She was trying to believe, she was trying to not regret this!

“You can do this! Your yo-yo can also act like a helicopter!” Chat Noir instructed over the sounds of rushing air.

“What about you?!” She opened her eyes and looked at him worriedly.

He smirked and winked, “Not to worry, my staff can do the same thing~”

The ground was getting closer and Ladybug felt a surge of confidence. It was as if her body was remembering what to do on its own. She grasped her yo-yo and watched the people on the ground grow bigger.

“I’m scared.” She admitted.

“That’s understandable.” Chat moved his arm so that she was free to move how she wanted, “But it’s now or never!”

It was almost too late when she finally pushed away from him and spun her yo-yo, slowing her descent to the ground. She landed roughly and rolled, ending up on her butt. Chat landed a few feet away, smilingly brightly, “See?! I told you that you’re amazing!”

She stood and dusted herself off, clenching her shaking fists a few times to try and force the trembling to stop, “This feels familiar. I think I can do this. Chat Noir…”

“Hmm?” With a tilt of his head, he waited for her to continue, watching a light appear in her eyes.

“I can do this. I’m going to save the city!” With the red and black yo-yo in hand, she looked toward where the floating women was heading, then back at Chat Noir, “Will you help me?”

A warmth swelled in his chest and it took all he had to keep from squealing with delight as he closed the distance between them, grasping her hand gently, planting a delicate kiss a top it, “M’lady, you don’t even have to ask.”

“O-ok, kitty, enough of that. We have work to do!” She pulled her hand away, trying not to smile at his suave actions. With a throw and a tug, she found herself, once again, flying through the sky, toward the top of one of the buildings. Chat Noir watched for a moment, a content sigh escaping him, before he followed closely, extending his staff to propel himself after her.

The woman’s periwinkle romantic tutu flared as she pirouetted through the air, delicate twists and twirls causing the familiar petals to be thrown from her basket. Her hair was in a tight bun, the hair blond at the roots, fading to black throughout the bun. The movements were absent-minded, as if she wasn’t even paying attention to the chaos she was causing.

“Hey, flower girl! You dropped something!” Chat called, landing on a roof just ahead of Forget-Me-Not. Her dreamy expression remained unchanged as she lifted her hand, an impossible amount of petals lifting from the basket. Before she could send the petals at Chat Noir, Ladybug’s yo-yo wrapped around the woman’s wrist, keeping her from directing the petals. Immediately, Chat Noir jumped at the woman and smashed the basket with his staff, sending it and the petals to ground.

But no black butterfly appeared.

“What? But her powers were coming from the basket… weren’t they?” Ladybug looked at the broken basket and watched, confused, as it disintegrated into more petals. Chat Noir seemed just as confused. A loud metal snapping sound caught their attention a moment later. Their eyes landed on the floating woman. Around her neck, a tiny gold locket had opened, and a blue mass seemed to be pushing it’s way through. Something huge was trying to fit through such a small opening all at once.

And then it happened.

Petals exploded from the locket, surrounding the woman, a tornado of flowers surrounding her, protecting her. No doubt, anyone who tried to get close now would be affected.

Ladybug’s mouth hung open as the tornado began to slowly move at them. Chat grabbed her hand and jumped to another roof, away from the enemy. There was no way he’d let her get hurt again.

“What can we do?” She put her hand to her head, the mental gears clearly moving at top speed as Chat pulled her along, “We can’t even get close to her.”

They stopped a few roofs over, and a hand landed on Ladybug’s shoulder. Chat smiled down at her, “You seem to keep forgetting that you’re amazing. You still have your Lucky Charm. Just throw your yo-yo and say those words.”

It seemed ridiculous, and embarrassing, but it seemed to be their only option now. She looked at the yo-yo and then threw it into the air.

“LUCKY CHARM!” She squinted at the light that radiated from her yo-yo and then quickly dodged out of the way as a large fan, almost as tall as she was, landed on the roof where she had been.

What?

“Now you just have to figure out how it can help us.” Chat Noir tried to remain positive, confident that even without her memories, she’d still be able to work through it.

She searched, glancing around the rooftop. The fan lit up red with black polka dots, as did a roof generator, and Chat Noir. But why we he lit up? It was already obvious what she could do with just the fan and the generator. Quickly, she plugged the fan into the generator and maneuvered it so it was facing the approaching tornado of flowers. They stood behind the fan, ready to turn it on as soon as the tornado was close enough.

“Almost… just a little… now!” Ladybug flipped the switch and the fan started up on it’s highest setting, the industrial strength machine causing it’s own windstorm. The flower petals shuttered but ultimately were unaffected, “It’s not working!”

Her teeth grabbed her bottom lip as she and Chat Noir moved closer together behind the fan. Their shoulders brushed together and she looked up at him, searching, “Chat Noir, what can you do?”

“I use Cataclysm. Basically, it breaks stuff.” He bragged, wiggling his claws.

That’s it!

She pointed at the generator, “Hurry! Hit that!”

“CATACLYSM!” He called, his claw becoming surrounded by otherworldly smoke and specks. The generator whirred and sparked, and as the energy inside it surged, the fan was kicked into overdrive!

The petals could no longer fight against the wind and were blown back, revealing the woman beyond, her locket still pouring petals.

Chat Noir extended his staff and hooked the chain of the locket, wrenching it off her neck with a snap. The petals poured out as the locket hit the roof and bounced at Ladybug’s feet. She grabbed it, snapping it closed to stem the flow of petals and looked to Chat Noir, “What do I do now?”

“You need to break it to release the akuma,” He explained, but held up his hand to stop her, “But first! You need to throw the fan into the air and say ‘Miraculous Ladybug!’ That will fix everything and give you back your memories.”

With a nod, she lifted the fan and tossed it with a grunt, “Miraculous Ladybug!”

It exploded into sparkles that raced across the city, the blanket of petals across the city disappearing and the chaos and damage being fixed. A group of sparkles descended upon Ladybug, spinning around her before disappearing into the sky. The girl stood for a moment, her eyes closed. They fluttered open and she looked around, her eyes landing on Chat Noir. A smile crossed her face, “Hey, Chat Noir.”

“Ladybug? Do you-“ He started, hopefully.

“Yup!” She nodded, with a laugh, before holding up the locket, “And now for this little nasty little bug.”

Chat Noir rushed forward and grabbed the locket, keeping her from crushing it, “Wait! Before you do that…”

She raised an eyebrow at him, reaching out to take it back, but he backed away from her, “Chat? What are you doing?”

His clawed hand, the ring on his finger blinking to it’s last light, hovered above the locket, “It’s ok. I know what I’m doing… I think.”

With a gentle press, the locket opened and petals spilled out. He grabbed a handful of petals, closing the locket when he was sure he had enough, before sprinkling them over his head.

“Stop that!” Ladybug rushed forward and snatched the locket back, breaking it immediately. The black butterfly emerged and began to flutter away. She drew a line across her yo-yo and threw it at the butterfly, the words she would normally say escaping her. The yo-yo caught the creature with ease and brought it back to Ladybug, who pressed the top of the yo-yo and watched as a white butterfly flew away. Quickly, she turned and looked to Chat Noir, not noticing her teacher transforming back to her normal self on the other side of the roof, “Chat Noir… say something.”

He stood still, his eyes closed. It seemed like forever before his eyes opened and he looked up as if he just woken from a nap. Ladybug stared up at him, concern written across her face, “Ladybug?”

“Chat, what did you do?!” She brushed the petals off his shoulders and stomped them into the ground, making sure every single one was crushed, then looked back at him, “Do you know who I am?”

“What do you mean? You’re Ladybug.” He looked around, suddenly worried, “Wait, why are we up here? Where’s the enemy?!”

Her shoulders dropped, as did her heart. Grasping his hand, she showed him the last blinking light on his ring, “We defeated the akuma, Chat Noir. Look.”

“I… but the lady in blue attacked you and then… and then… what…” He opened his mouth to continue, but saw the last dot on her earring blinking, “We don’t have time to talk about this now. You have to go!”

As much as she hated it, he had a point. She backed away, her eyes trained on him, before turning and swinging away as fast as she could. His green eyes followed her for a moment before he headed in the opposite direction, just barely able to get out of sight before he transformed back. Plagg landed in his hands, tired and pouty.

“Why am I so tired?!” He whined, rolling over.

Adrien frowned, “Do you remember what happened, Plagg?”

The black kwami groaned, “I remember transforming, Ladybug getting attacked, and then waking up on the roof, exhausted. That’s it.”

“That’s what I remember too.” He let out a defeated sigh and headed toward home, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, like a dream he knew he had but couldn’t remember.

Marinette ran up the stairs to Alya’s apartment and knocked on the door, fidgeting, “Alya?”

“One minute!” A voice called, moments before the door opened to reveal Marinette’s best friend, “Hey, girl! What’s up?”

“You remember me!” Marinette launched herself at Alya, wrapping her arms around her neck.

Alya just laughed and hugged Marinette back, “What’s gotten into you, Marinette? Of course I remember you.”

It was difficult to explain, so she made up a story about a nap and a dream, and while Alya didn’t completely believe her, she didn’t press the issue.

“Oh, also… do you think you could help me with my essay?” Marinette giggled innocently, making Alya slap her hand to her forehead.

“Girl, girl, girl. What am I going to do with you?” Alya sighed, but agreed to help.

~~

“Alright, class! Those of you who didn't turn in their essay yesterday can pass them up now.” Caline Bustier stood at the front of her class again, beaming. Marinette proudly pulled the essay from her bag and handed it to the teacher.

After class, Alya jumped excitedly at Marinette, pulling out her phone, “You’re not going to believe this, but reports having been coming in from all over about a short-lived mass amnesia across Paris!”

“O-oh? Really? I was working so hard on my essay, I must have missed it, haha.” Marinette lied, avoiding eye contact with Alya. The blogger looked suspiciously at Marinette, but her attention was grabbed away by Nino, followed by a rather downtrodden Adrien.

“Hey, Nino! Adrien!” She ran to him and showed him her phone, “Did you hear about what happened yesterday?!”

Nino seemed happy to freak out with Alya, but Adrien stood back from them, only looking sadder the more they talked about it. Cautiously, as if a wrong move could scare him away, Marinette moved closer, “Adrien? Are you ok?”

“Huh? O-oh, yeah, I’m fine.” He glanced at her, putting on a fake smile, but it didn’t last. He looked at the ground, “The thing that happened yesterday… it seems like everyone who was affected regained their memories… mine haven’t come back yet.”

She froze. There’s no way he wouldn’t have regained his memories if the amnesia was caused by an akuma. Her miraculous was perfect. Unless… unless he was affected after she used her miraculous, “Oh, I see. I’m sorry.”

Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he smiled sadly, walking toward the car where his bodyguard waited, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they’ll come back eventually.”

“Adrien!” She called on impulse, immediately regretting it as he stopped and turned. Her voice cracked and she stammered, looking anywhere else but him. The memories of how he helped her as Ladybug replayed in her head, and she suddenly knew what to say, “Do you… do you like Ladybug?”

The question seemed to catch him off guard, but his surprise melted into adoration, a genuine smile growing on his face, “Very much.”

His car drove off and she was left, staring, even as the car left her sight. Alya bumped into her with her hip and teased, “Hey~ I saw you talking to Aaaaaadrien~”

Marinette laughed and pushed Alya lightly, refusing to grace the statement with a response. As they turned to walk home, Marinette glanced back at the where the car had gone, smiling.

Someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm actually contemplating a bonus chapter, if you guys want one~
> 
> Seriously, I'm so grateful for all of the comments from you guys, on ALL platforms. This is probably the shortest story I've ever written, but it's been so fulfilling!


	3. Story Time (Bonus Chapter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to lil_fangirl27 for convincing me to write the bonus chapter! I really hope it lives up to their expectations. And thank you to all of my readers for, well, reading!
> 
> (Upon reading it again, months later, I don't particularly like this chapter as much as the first 2, but I'm keeping it because I feel like it needs that little bit a closure. Someday, I may even rewrite it to be better. Again, thank you for reading!)

Adrien sat in his room, on the couch. It was completely dark, only the light of the city flooding into his room through the massive windows. Even the moon hadn’t quite risen yet. His hands were folded in thought, big green eyes downcast, focused on nothing in particular. Plagg sat on the table, an untouched piece of Camembert next to him. The little Kwami wanted to eat it, but the uncomfortable feeling of forgetting kept from enjoying his treat. His ears perked when a heavy sigh escaped his human.

“Come on, Adrien, you can’t be that sad about all of this. Cheer up already, what’s done is done!” Plagg floated from the table and toward Adrien.

Adrien turned as Plagg came into his line of sight, “Yeah, says the Kwami that hasn’t even touched his Camembert. You’re as depressed as I am.”

Plagg opened his mouth to respond, but his whiskers and ears fell and he floated back down to the table. He had a point. With his little foot, the black spirit kicked the plate of cheese away.

A tapping sound caught Adrien’s attention, but he ignored it. It turned into a loud knocking and he turned, ready to tell whatever bird had chosen now of all times to disturb his thoughts to go away.

He froze, eyes wide.

At the window, a familiar silhouette hung from a familiar string, propped against the window. He could barely make out the red suit and black spots with the city lights behind her, but he could never forget that figure. Ladybug was there. She was really there!

Adrien’s eyes darted to the side in a panic, but Plagg had ducked behind his cheese, thankful for his natural camouflage in the dark. Slowly, as to not disturb what could very well be a cruel hallucination, he stood from the couch. His desire to run to the window was tearing him apart, but he hide his excitement the best he could and walked calmly to the window, opening one of them.

Ladybug smiled brightly, “Bonsoir, Adrien! I’m sorry to disturb you so late, but a little bird informed I that you were sad about something. And with the help you gave me earlier, I just couldn’t let that continue. Are you okay?”

“Ladybug… I… uh, no, I’m okay, you don’t need to worry about me!” Slightly confused, he put on a fake smile, one that most would believe, but Ladybug could see through it.

“Then why are you sitting in the dark?” She cooed, sitting on the edge of the open window. Her heart dropped when she watched his smile disappear, replaced by a deep sadness, “May I come in?”

Adrien found himself unable to speak, so he just stepped aside and nodded, avoiding her bluebell eyes. Her legs swung over the windowsill and she gracefully dropped into the room, her yo-yo finding it’s way back to her hand. She stood awkwardly, unsure of how to continue. In a dark room, alone with the boy she desperately loved, it was hard to not think about one of the options. Quickly, she put the thought out of her mind and focused back on Adrien, his beautiful face partially aglow by the light of the city, it’s perfect contours outshining even the most famous statues in France.

“I…” He started, his voice soft, with a hint of frustration, “You said I helped you… but I can’t remember anything. My memories of yesterday haven’t come back.”

Ladybug stepped forward, “I wish I could help you with your memories, Adrien. What if I told you what I remember? It’s the least I can do.”

“I’d like that.” Adrien’s face lit up and he smiled sweetly. They sat next to each other, Plagg having disappeared long since, and sat in silence for an awkward moment.

Ladybug fiddled with her hair for a moment and cleared her throat, looking over at Adrien, whose eyes had never left her face, “So, where to begin?”

“After Chat Noir took you into the subway?” Adrien suggested, “That’s about where my memories stop, at least.”

She nodded and thought about it for a moment, gathering her thoughts, “When I woke up, I didn’t remember anything about being Ladybug, only my life before it. Chat Noir tried his best to help, but I thought he was a creep. I feel bad about what I said to him, but thinking back on it, it was kind of funny. Haha, I’m such a terrible person, I tried to use laser vision on him!”

Adrien sighed at the sight of her laughing face, feeling himself fall even more deeply in love with her.

Her laughing suddenly stopped and her eyes widened.

_/You don’t remember me? … do you remember who you are?/_

“Ladybug?” Worried, Adrien leaned toward her as she stared wide-eyed into space. She snapped back, looking back at him.

“O-oh, what? Me? Yes, no, I’m goob-good. I’m good. I’m fine. Yes.” She stammered, still trying to process exactly what this all meant. The pieces were falling together too fast, “Where was I?”

“Laser vision.” Adrien said with a slight chuckle.

She nodded, giggling, “Ah, right! So, after leaving him in the tunnels-!”

By the time she had finished the story, the light from the Eiffel Tower had long since disappeared. Their eyes had adjusted to the dark, so they elected to leave the lights off for the remainder of the story.

Ladybug walked to the window she had used to enter Adrien’s room and pulled herself up to the edge, “I have to go now. I hope that helped.”

“Yes. Thank you.” He leaned his shoulder against the window, “And thank Marinette for me, would you?”

“What?!” Ladybug froze, wide-eyed at Adrien, “How’d you know?”

He grinned cutely, “She’s the only one I told about this.”

Ladybug turned away, hiding the blush that was growing on her face. She was sure he would’ve told at least Nino, “If I see her again, I will. But… maybe you should tell her yourself?”

Throwing her yo-yo, she looked back at Adrien as he closed the window, still watching her. With a content sigh, she smiled, “Thank you, Chat.”

From inside the window, Adrien could barely see her mouth move in the dark before she flew off into the night. As soon as she disappeared, he put his back against the window and slide to the floor with a sigh.

Plagg appeared from behind a curtain and looked at the love struck teenager with exasperation, “Well, this is familiar.”

**Author's Note:**

> Haaaaaaaaaaaa yeah, there we go. If you guys like it, I’ll post the second half. If you guys don’t like it, I’ll still write the second half, cause that has my favorite part and I write for myself as much as I write for others. I just won’t post it [here].
> 
> Thanks!


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